Majority of manufacturers use cloud services

April 15, 2015

Public cloud is used by 66 percent of remanufacturers, while 68 percent use private cloud.

The figures are part of the results of an IDC survey, which found that “Cloud Also” is the most popular strategy for new and replacement IT investments in the public cloud, with 61.6 percent of net new IT services respondents using it. Only slightly lower is the number for those replacing IT existing functionality, at 56.8 percent.

IDC said that “IT operations are the primary benefactor today from manufacturers’ cloud strategy” as a minority of 30 to 35 percent of respondents said operations, supply chain and sales expected to benefit from the decision. Futhermore, only 41 percent thought business units having more direct control over sourcing their IT services is a major reason or moving to cloud.

The report concluded that over the next 10 years manufacturers will “increasingly rely on enterprise and industry clouds for access to information, technology resources, and operational support”, as cloud computing becomes the standard for new operations, be they organic or acquired. Manufacturers need to “review their underlying network and communication infrastructures” in preparation for the transition, IDC said.

Cloud will entail “significant value” to manufacturers as it will facilitate “use of the data that will be connected from sensors throughout the manufacturing operations with IP-based connectivity and the Internet of Things”.

Another of IDC’s conclusions was that private cloud may become a short-term “means of extending internal IT infrastructure without raising significant concerns over data security, for the cost saving and operational agility”. Nonetheless, another shift is expected to “more cost-effective public clouds for noncritical efforts”, particularly as confidence in the security of public cloud increases.

Research Director Kimberly Knickle, of IDC Manufacturing Insights, said: ”Manufacturers are in the midst of a digital transformation, in which third platform technologies are absolutely essential to the way they do business and in the products and services they provide to their customers.

“Consequently, a strategic approach to adopting cloud is absolutely essential.”

A 2014 IDC global survey of the IT market from IDC had 41 percent of US manufacturing respondents saying they use public cloud for IT resources. In other IDC research from 2014, almost half of European manufacturing respondents in said they had or planned to adopt ERP in the public cloud, while 49 percent of Asian Pacific respondents were using or intended to use public or private cloud.

The findings come after HP said last week that its Helion cloud project was struggling to compete in the public cloud market. However, the OEM also stated that it will continue in its hybrid cloud solutions enterprise.

Categories : Around the Industry

Tags : Cloud Manufacturing Market Data